Monsters and Demons Among Men
by RackleCrackle
Summary: As far as legends go the Bijuus were supposed to be ancient entities, reckless forces of nature with unimaginable power. But what if the prophecies and evidence of them just weren't there? Afterall they're nothing but folklore... SasuNaru, side pairings, OC, jinchuuriki. Pretty much backwards, and throwing canon out the window:)
1. Monsters and Demons Among Men

**MONSTERS AND DEMONS AMONG MEN**

 **Summary:** As far as legends go the Bijuus were supposed to be ancient entities, reckless forces of nature with unimaginable power. But what if the prophecies and evidence of them just weren't there? What if instead they were someone's science experiment? SasuNaru, side pairings, OC, jinchuuriki. Pretty much backwards, and throwing canon out the window:)

 **Genre** : Everything

 **Pairing:** SasuNaru and other side pairings

 **Rating:** M future smut.

 **Disclaimer-** SasuNaru, Canon Divergence?/AUish?, Massacre-less, YOAI. No Madara, no Akatsuki? Maybe, we'll see.

I don't own the Naruto, just clarifying any possible mishaps. But, yes, I do sign autographs.

 **AN:** Ok, ok in the great words of Drake "I ain't never told no lie" that being said I'm not gonna deal with no fucking B.S. So, I don't want hate, if you have problems with your own internalized homophobia then call (212)673-3000. They seem like nice people. Best of luck. I have mentioned it in 1. The summary for the story and inside the actual story's page. 2. The gotdam disclaimer. If you didn't read them well then I suggest you call your local optometrist. They're probably a nice person too.

* * *

 **01\. Devil In A Black Dress**

Team Seven was unique.

But what he actually meant was that Team Seven was a mess.

Kakashi couldn't have been more screwed with the luck of his draw.

There was Sakura, small dainty little Sakura Haruno. The girl with the baby pink hair and eyes the color of Konoha's summer leaves, girlish and naïve. The problem was that ninja weren't dainty. Her world was one centered around idealistic love and romance. She was sweet when she wasn't a feral creature that snarled with the fury of a prodded tiger. She could hit pretty hard when she was angry. Her chakra control was the best. For a civilian she did pretty damn well but as a ninja she had a long way to go.

Then there was Sasuke. Moody and brooding and dark and frowning Sasuke. He was an Uchiha, pale with tar black hair he most likely thought was the color of his soul and matching ice black lacquer eyes all the adolescent girls swooned for. What he was always so uncontent about he wasn't sure but it might have something to do with Itachi and Uchihas always trying to one up each other. As any Uchiha he was superb, top of his class with exceeding potential, but also,

an arrogant buttwipe.

He wanted perfection and nothing less, his world centered around the reach for power. Teamwork was his downfall. That and his attitude.

Then there was Naruto. Naruto the orphaned class clown at the bottom of his year the Hokage looked over personally. He was a boy of inexpendable energy colored in obnoxious colors. He bounded everywhere with childish powder blue eyes, a sunflower golden mess of hair, mischievous grin and a metaphorical wagging tail. If Sakura and Sasuke needed work, Naruto needed a personalized tutor. He moved with jerkiness which more often than not landed him in more trouble as opposed to his teammates more graceful movements and his self and chakra control were horrid.

Individually, each was a handful. Together they were a tapped land mine waiting to go off. Sakura bickered with Naruto who professed his undying love and constantly got the boot. Sakura bothered Sasuke who ignored her as she professed her undying love once again got the boot (not as violently though.). Naruto and Sasuke were in constant rivalry, no profession of undying love between the two but constantly giving each other the boot. Naruto, because Sasuke would ignore Sakura's profession and he was a bastard. Sasuke, because Naruto was never shut up and was an idiot who wouldn't leave him alone.

 _Two lonely souls who misunderstood rivalry for friendship and got caught up in a mess somewhere in between._

Or maybe that was just Kakashi projecting.

But Team Seven was growing, they were on their way back from a C rank mission that had gone up to a B rank. They had been ambushed by Zabuza and Haku, rogue ninja from Kiri when they were forced to deal with a gang that was controlling and crippling Wave Country. Kakashi had seen snippets, protecting each other and on the way back they were much more subdued, less hostile and more aware of each other and themselves all around. Sakura overlooked them with a hawks eye and stood taller, prouder.

So when Team Seven crossed the finish line at Konoha's gate Kakashi felt the small gush and slow swell of pride. It was still a far shot but they were a step closer.

That's was a step closer considering he was a hell of a lazy teacher.

So when the sun shone red and agitated against the roses and magenta of the sky and wisps of clouds began to dissipate like cotton candy in his mouth Kakashi told them to pick up the pace and report to the Hokage.

The kids were tired from the long trip so when they were moving at a snail's pace and Naruto slowly dragging himself up the stairs Kakashi didn't comment. As soon as access was allowed Naruto flung himself at one of the chairs and the Hokage merely smoked his pipe.

"Oh, do tell how it went" he smiled wide and amused at the child. Clearing his throat Kakashi gave his report and his wrinkled face slowly turned serious and reserved.

With a few words of praise and encouragement they were let go with a more handsome pay than previously expected. Outside the tower alongside the dirt streets with the background excitement of children Kakashi gave his own half-assed praise and watched Sakura and Naruto beam while Sasuke looked thoughtful, subtle pride easing his frown.

And then Naruto opened his mouth to badger Sasuke and strive for Sakura's attention which resulted in a smack to the back of the head and a mouthful of cockiness from Uchiha. Kakashi left them arguing in front of the Hokage Tower riding the whisper of a breeze and soft flurry of leaves without them even noticing.

 **.*.+.*.**

"Guys, Kakashi-sensei already left" Sakura whined and Naruto quickly looked around while he and Sasuke gripped the collars of their shirts.

"And just when we were making progress" she sighed lightly to herself, hand on hip. A lightbulb went off over her head, slight blush overtaking her and she flustered.

"Hey um,...Sasuke-kun do you wanna-"

"I'm going home" he shoved Naruto and headed without so much as a goodbye, the sun reflecting off the shine of his jet black hair and his relaxed posture.

"Bastard! She was talking to you! Come back here you dick!" Naruto shouted shaking his fist at him.

"Naruto! There are children here watch your mouth!" She chided and he deflated but perked back up, resilient as ever.

"Hey Sakura do you wanna-"

"I've gotta get home my parents are gonna be worried..." so with arms pulled behind her back she pivoted on her heel and headed east while Sasuke headed north. Pouting to himself Naruto stuck his hands in his pockets and headed south towards his apartment.

Crossing the shimmering surface of the lake Naruto watched kids swimming with floaters and waddling with bright flippers, laughing and carefree. The empty pull of loneliness gnawed at him and he sighed. _It sure was a nice day no matter how fast that dick managed to mess it up. He's such a jerk, what's his problem?_

Blowing a raspberry to himself Naruto scuffed the ground with his sandal and turned towards home with his hands behind his back.

Being alone was nice, Naruto was sure of himself without needing the validation of anybody else, but it would be nice if sometimes people were there when his apartment was a little too quiet or a little too big. He just didn't know what people's deals were, he was branded the delinquent and stamped 'trouble' by shopkeepers so he wasn't too friendly with them. The only reason he pulled pranks was because he wanted people to talk to him, maybe some admiration from kids his age or care from elders. But that ended in a tarnished reputation and a cold shoulder.

The only reason he wanted that attention was because his parents were dead. Naruto never knew them but the old geezer did and sometimes he would tell Naruto little snippets about them. He knew the honor his father had once had as Hokage. They had died when Oto had overwhelmed Konoha on a surprise attack when he was an infant, and Naruto rarely saw the old geezer even though he paid for his living and food. His old man was the whole reason he wanted to be Hokage.

Climbing the stairs Naruto shuffled for his keys but they clattered to the floor so looking upside down between his legs he saw a cat looking at him from the dirt road where it meowed.

"Well hello there, whatcha doing here?" he cooed.

All black with large yellow-green eyes the cat rubbed against his leg and a soft purr rumbled through its chest.

"Are you hungry?" Naruto crouched and rubbed the pads of his fingers against its soft chin. Opening the door the kitty followed and Naruto lead it up to his apartment. Opening his door the cat stepped in hesitantly and began going around, sniffing and curious.

"Hmm, what do you like? I don't suppose you like ramen? No, but I have chicken! Do you want chicken?" The cat wasn't paying attention so Naruto took that as a yes and heated chicken scraps for the cat and some take out from Ichiraku, mouth already watering.

"Ooh, I almost forgot about you guys. Whoops" Naruto carefully watered the collection of plants and flowers lining the window sill, the kitty rubbing up and dancing between his legs. Then it just stared at him.

"C'mon, eat, your food is right there"

The cat stared at him and then followed him to the living room where Naruto sat on his couch and turned on the tv. The small ball of fur nestled in the cradle of his crossed legs and purred, nose flaring gently as it sniffed him and licked him.

"Alright suit yourself" digging into the noodles Naruto sighed in contentment, _Ichiraku was sent down straight from the gods themselves. Gods bless that man._ After devouring the noodles Naruto pet the cat until he noticed that the trash was overflowing in the corner. _Ehhh but I don't wanna._

Naruto didn't usually bother with cleaning and in an apartment as big as his, it was a problem, and he knew that.

But this was trash, even Naruto couldn't stand to be breathing in that mess all the time. So, gathering his mess he emptied the cans and opened the door, ready to put on his shoes when the cat came over and started swatting his shoe.

"Hey, stop that I gotta go"

Looking at him with narrowed pupils the kitty, as fast as a shadow picked up his sandal and darted down the stairs and out the slightly open front window.

"What the hell! Get back here theif!"

Trash forgotten on the street, Naruto caught the cat running into the outskirts of the forest.

"Hey come back here ya damn cat!" With fist in the air and ready to take off a girl running towards him caught his attention. She was a tall and pretty woman with purple hair and amber eyes and the ink on her white skin caught his attention the most.

"Did you just say cat?"

"Yea?"

"I'm sorry but my cat got out today, she's black-"

"-Green eyes?"

"Yes!"

"She just took off with my shoe" Naruto said rubbing his neck and laughing and bashful.

"That's her! I'm so sorry, she usually just takes socks! Do you mind telling me where she went?"

Blushing at the pretty girls apologies Naruto nodded and lead her towards the trail of the miniature burglar. It wasn't really dark but the moon cast pale light through the patches of leaves and branches, lighting their way. They weren't that deep in when the Naruto pushed away a clump of branches caught the sight of something and the girl shuffled behind him.

"Hey! I think that's my-"

And that's when the blow came to the back of the head and the world tilted before falling away into the lull of darkness.


	2. The Curious Case of NU

**02\. The Curious Case of Naruto Uzumaki and the Missing Shoe**

Hot and humid the wind roared through the trees providing relief to overheated skin. In their training ground with the sun's ruthless rays above her head Sakura stood, waiting for the rest of her team. Mother was being insufferable so she had left early. She watched the way the wind would skim along the tips of grass creating a dance of green waves. It wasn't long before she saw the dark dot that was Sasuke-kun in the distance. The sight of him filled her with adoration and she mentally and physically prepared herself for his arrival. _Play it cool, he probably goes for girls that are easygoing and flawless. You got this._

Sakura sat herself in what she thought was an attractive pose. Arms wrapped lazily around her knees and her head held high, eyes closed and feeling the breeze over her skin.

She wasn't sure how long she waited.

But when the small shuffle of Sasuke's clothes was heard Sakura turned to him, wind kissing her long candy floss hair and smiled her most dazzling smile at him,

"Morning Sasuke-kun..."

Whimpering she deflated like a pin to a balloon and he made some half assed attempt at a grunt. _He's not even looking at me._ Sakura sulked and spent the rest of the morning watching him watch the tree he was under _what's so great about a tree anyways? Look at me Sasuke-kun!_

Kakashi's appearance scared the morning daylights out of her and she pointed impatient as ever,

"You're late!"

Not bothering to look away from his book he shrugged.

"I apologize I had to help a mother duck get all her ducklings in a row."

Sakura's face twitched she was well past the stage of believing him,

"and where may Naruto be this morning?"

"Naruto?"

"Yes. Yeay high, orange, blo-"

"I know what he looks like, I don't know. He's always late"

"Ah, but he's usually here before me. Hmm, well then I guess we can't start." Sakura sighed, this was not the first nor was it going to be the last time even though he was always still here before Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke huffed like a pacing animal in the distance,

"The moron is still probably asleep" he mumbled.

"Go check on him. Both of you. We can't get started as Team Seven if not all of Team Seven is here" Sakura let her head face the heavens in irritation and sighed.

"Alright. Where does he live?"

"You don't know where he lives? What kind of teammate doesn't know where her fellow comrades live? Well, have fun with that" without so much as a goodbye Kakashi walked towards the center of the city leaving both children wide eyed.

"Kakashi-sensei! How are we going to find out?" Sakura shouted.

"I don't know, have fun" he gave a jolly two fingered salute behind them, his lanky figure disappearing among the slowly growing crowd of afternoon shoppers.

 _Well I've just bought myself another hour._

 _Damn Kakashi_ Sasuke fumed mouth twisted in a small snarl.

 **.*.+.*.**

First they went to Ichiraku's, but he was busy with his lunch rush. Then they went to Hokage but he was busy and they didn't get past security. Then they got the bright idea of asking Iruka-sensei. With a smile and nod Iruka told them where on the south side of town Naruto lived.

At the building Sakura was surprised, the house was pale yellow and the porch had potted plants lining along the railing. Trying to open a locked house was more time consuming than just scaling the side. So with chakra infused fingers the two scaled to the second floor and pried open the window that was a sliver open. Sakura tumbled in after Sasuke, landing in a tangle of limbs and a loud crash, both blushing furiously at their proximity.

Sakuras tiny mind almost imploded itself but Sasuke ignored her and dusted himself off. They had broken one of the many potted plants lining the window sill and Sakura moved to salvage the pieces.

 _Huh_ Sasuke thought.

The walls were undecorated, the place was spacious with a big tv and comfy couch and simple kitchen despite the mess Naruto's house currently was.

"Idiot where are you?" Sasuke called out and was met with the silence of white walls. The apartment was not what Sasuke had imagined but not too far off at the same time. It was littered with trash (i.e. Ramen cups) and there were unwashed dishes in an otherwise spotless kitchen, but the trash can was empty. _Only that moron._ The kitchen table didn't even look used.

Bursting into the bedroom Sasuke tripped over one of Naruto's shirts and face planted onto a pile of clothes. The walls were an offensive orange, loose posters hanging from the wall with slanted thumbtacks and even more ramen cups and milk cartons littering the floor. There was a full clothesline and the bed was a tangled mess of bundled orange sheets. Above the dresser was a walrus sleeping cap with the framed picture of Team Seven. The blinds were partially pulled haphazardly and darkened the room.

"Eww, this room is disgusting" Sakura said head poking in from around the doorway.

"Naruto are you here!" She shouted with a pinched nose but within the stillness of the room it was obvious he wasn't. Sasuke got up, and stomped around the house pulling doors and closets.

"Cut the prank, get out dumbass", but the baiting didn't work and that's when they decided to check somewhere else. They even asked the neighbor the floor below if she had seen him but she was deaf so she ended up shouting about wanting to cancel her newspaper subscription and slammed the door in their face.

On their way out the front door they ran right past the opened cans of trash and darted past the outskirts of the forest, where just a couple of feet hidden under the brush of leaves and bushes away the beaten up sandal of Naruto Uzumaki.

 **.*.+.*.**

Sakura and Sasuke were lead on a wild goose chase, separating to look through the noise of parks, Ichiraku's about four times, the academy, the peace of the training grounds as well as atop Hokage mountain. At the beginning it was downright infuriating after an hour Kakashi hadn't come back and after another half hour with Kakashi they searched until it was mid afternoon and the heat of anger turned to the leaden weight of dread and worry.

It wasn't long before the Hokage was notified.

' _Sir, we can find Naruto'_

' _Well did anything happen?'_

' _No, he wasn't present this morning at the training grounds...we've searched the city.'_

' _Was anything amiss?'_

' _No not at all'_

That had been over two hours ago. It was more than some practical joke. A squad of ninja had been sent out, hand picked by the Hokage with Kakashi among them and dispatched within twenty minutes.

They wouldn't return for another two days.

 **.*.+.*.**

Naruto wasn't even really sure he had woken up. He couldn't tell if he was floating or falling, which way was up and which way was down. Surrounded in abyssal darkness he couldn't even see in front of him, all he knew was that his face hurt. Shifting with a groan the left side of his face was numb and relief from alleviating the pressure surged through him. He was almost certain he was drooling. _What? Where the hell am I?_ The ice coldness of the ground pressed up into his body and his bound wrists hurt. Squirming he attempted to sit up and navigate through the darkness but he face fell forward and pressed into the ground with a tired groan.

"Are you kidding me?" he murmured to himself.

A door opened and the sharp onslaught of light was too much, making his face scrunch and recoil as if he'd been hit. Manicured feet stepped and crouched in front of his face and the dark outline of a woman slowly eased into focus until he noticed it was the cat lady.

"What happened?" He tripped over his words as if drunk.

"I'm Konan, you're okay you just tripped and hit your head pretty hard."

"I did?"

"Yea, I brought you here so it's best that if for now you don't exert yourself too much."

"Why is it so dark?" He groaned and Konan undid the ties on his hands.

"I wanted you to sleep"

"Why the ties though?" He said, eyes still too sensitive to make anything else besides her figure and rubbing at the angry skin.

"Sorry, it was the fastest way to get you here. Here I brought you some food"

Pushing a tray into his hands she quickly stood and flickered on the lights in the room, blinding him and the last thing he heard was the small 'click' of her departure.

Upon his stars in his eyes disappearing he realized the room wasn't a room, it was more a cross between a dungeon, prison and laboratory. The place was sterile and sparse like he was begin punished and the air was damp and uncomfortable. _What the-_ The doors were not actual doors but _bars_ of a cage. The bed was bolted to the wall only supported by two suspensions anchored to the wall and a flat pillow. Engraved in the bars was a seal of some sort, the words pulsing blue like the humming voltage on an electric fence.

Putting his hands over the bars he attempted to stick his head out and wave his arms to try to undo whatever type of lock was on the door.

"Hey! Lady come back here! What's the deal!? Lady!" The hallway was dimly lit, the lights flickering as if they'd give out any second.

Looking at the walls that echoed his voice and feeling the wet and cool draft graze his skin Naruto curled in on himself, rubbing the goosebumps away. _This place is underground, damn it._

Sitting against the wall he looked around until the cup of ramen on the tray caught his attention. Naruto wasn't completely dumb, contrary to popular belief, he knew something was up.

 _Of all things why this!...It could be poisoned, or a bomb or something worse._ But it was ramen. _Gorgeous mouthwatering_ **ramen**. Looking down at his growling stomach he wrapped his arms around himself and rocking he sighed.

 _Geez how long have I been here? I'm starving._

Naruto resisted, he was strong willed but after what felt like an eternity of sitting and panicking he just couldn't fight the clawed beast of hunger and he caved. He was ashamed and weak minded but it didn't matter when he was _that_ hungry. Another loud click of metal amplified and startled him, rushing over Naruto rattled the bars of his cage shouting into the hallways, hoping to get anything back but the ricochet of his own miserable voice.

"Argh! Kakashi-sensei! Sakura-chan! Damn Bastard! I'm over here!" Anger through his blood he stubbornly kicked the metal of the door. _What the-_ Naruto faced his own wiggling naked toes and his brain tugged at something but the memories were just out of his grasp. A growl escaped him and he slid down, looking up at the ceiling.

He yawned, the weight of fatigue pulled on him, eyes dropping and strangely warm and fuzzy inside. Crawling over to the bed on his knees Naruto flopped himself down, the drowsiness of a heavy stomach unwillingly drifting him off to sleep.


	3. For A World That Suffers

**03\. For a World that Suffers**

Splatters of moonlight filtered through summer leaves and caught light on bloody red. Kakashi ran alongside Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan spinning in all its deadly glory, navigating through the dense forest and dodging branches with the rhythm of a practiced dance. The heavy thud of feet entrusted that the other two were still following behind. It would've been somewhere along the lines of nostalgic if Kakashi's old teammates weren't meeting under these circumstances. With two and a half sharingan users they should've found any trace of Naruto except for his sandal.

But they couldn't because the trails were dead, the plants weren't disturbed nor the dirt and there was no blood, just a shoe. So using Itachi and Kakashi's nin-dogs as the trackers they set out to find any trace of the twelve year old boy.

That was approximately two days ago.

There was no way Naruto could outrun and smart all of them, if that was the case. The only explanation was that Naruto had been kidnapped. But there's no trace. His sensei would've been driven mad with worry. Kushina would've set the forest ablaze and turned every stone and puny bug over.

The dogs needed a break, they were approaching Suna borders anyway. So stopping near a small river the dogs drank and his team gathered together.

"You won't like this, but we should head back. Konoha is contact with Suna if Naruto did go in that direction." Itachi said, eyes lulling back to passive black, at least he looked sympathetic to Kakashi.

"Itachi is right senpai, we've checked the forests and come up empty handed. The Hokage should be notified."

Nodding solemnly Kakashi still felt sheepishness in Tenzou's adamant affinity to still call him that. Kakashi remembered a time when Shishui and Itachi would make remarks about Tenzou's admiration. Itachi shifted his beady little amused eyes towards Tenzou. _I almost forgot how much of a bastard you were_.

"I know you're right." Looking up at the starry sky Kakashi's dark eyes slid over the depths of the subtle encroaching tendrils of sand onto the land of green. _Come on Naruto, just where did you go?_

"Sensei is probably rolling around in his grave"

Shisui patted Kakashi's back and smiled lightly.

"We'll get him. Let's just hope the old geezer doesn't have a heart attack then we'll have an even bigger problem on our hands."

 **.*.+.*.**

Shaded in the darkness of the room Konan analyzed the crinkled pages of a weathered book, their turning pages sounding like the crackle and spit of a fire. The binding was breaking and the cover was made of worn leather with elaborate designs along the edges. There was no title.

The fire on one of the candles was running low so with a small flutter the woman's pale skin flaked off revealing itself to be paper and drifted over to unused candle, exploding softly and bathing the room in warm yellow light.

"Thank you, Konan" a man said bound to a wheelchair. She smiled lightly and looked over the pictures in the book, an almost fond expression on her face. Her remaining teammate Nagato who now referred to himself as Pein held the book with seals and read it over silently, double checking everything.

With the last vessel everything was in place.

"How much longer do you think it is going to take?" She asked pulling the blanket draped over her lower half higher. They were inside a hollowed out tree in the dead of the forest not too far from Ame.

"I'm double checking some of the last things that are needed. We start tomorrow." Pein said before closing the book and placing it on top of the pile of others. Oh, how much trouble they had gone through to acquire all those books, many were ancient texts that were stashed away behind hushed whispers and locked lips but after years of searching and fighting they had managed to get them in their possession.

Konan's expression became reserved, finally their dream would come true and Yahiko wouldn't have died in vain.

The Akatsuki was going to change the world.

As war orphans the trio of them had once aspired to saving the world, through peace and understanding but that was before Yahiko had died at the hands of Nagato because of Hanzo, the leader of Ame that thought the Akatsuki a threat. Nagato was left unable to use his legs and from there Pein rose. Scattered among the crumblings of buildings and slack bodies Nagato had the epiphany that peace was not achieved as naïvely as he once thought, the cosmos and heavens simply didn't work that way. Praying to Gods did nothing, they had to go out and be the change they wanted themselves. It was only through the destruction of war that they had experienced first hand, the misery of heartbreak of losing the ones you loved near and dear that people could understand each other, that was how peace was achieved. It was the unity of war and losing everything in the grip of chaos that brought people together.

So Pein and Konan searched for ways to bring their ideas to fruition. After looking and digging they stumbled across myths and tales of ancients. These books were hidden in shrines alongside sealings for demons and other entities in the deepest darkest corners of the world.

The answer was a force of untapped nature, a reservoir of power that would reshape the world capable of bringing it to its knees.

They were called Bijuu.

Bijuus were manifestations of chakra, of all the power and destruction and every flaw of man divided between entities. They were not godly, or spirits nor were they demons but a part of the makeup of nature like hurricanes and volcanoes ruling alongside Mother Nature. It took time to gather all the information on Bijuus, and in total there were nine.

And at first it seemed like nothing but lore and fairy tales, stories created to help rock children to sleep, keep their imagination alive and in awe of the power within the veins of the natural world. They were skeptical, hesitant but they were desperate for something real, something they could hold onto. Make their own.

So they tried to summon them, Pein did it the first and only time, but he felt it, he had pulled on it and it had re-energized him, enlightened and completely overwhelmed him. It had also knocked him out for a day.

There was no doubt after that.

To call nine of those beasts was too much so it was back to the blackboard and that's where the vessels came into the picture. In the Land of Demons there was a rumored priestess and countless generations before her that sealed exorcised demons and yes they had said, it was possible to seal entities and spirits. They had gotten their hands on some of Ushio's last sealmaster books and studied it carefully. Under Pein's command they would be containers, Pein's personal pawns and together they would have the first say in ushering a new era of true peace.

So, over the course of two weeks and very hard work and planning Konan had managed to kidnap people, no particular targets in mind. Preferably young and isolated, without having someone right on their trail to hunt them down and scattered all around the elemental nations, so no one would look twice, ninja died all the time anyway.

Three days ago the gullible leaf ninja had been the last. The rest were in soundproof chambers, kept heavily sedated and fed.

 **.*.+.*.**

Naruto registered the heat and peach color of light against the skin of his closed eyes. The clicks of metal resonated through his head, ping ponging in the swell of his skull making his temples pulse with a vengeance.

"Close the blinds" he swatted at the imaginary person. _Wait who's in my room?Wait what was that sound?!_ Darting up stick straight Naruto almost swayed with light headedness. He was greeted to the small space of what he thought was a bad dream. That's when the full blown panic set in, making his mind race in an indistinguishable jumble of planned escape routes. _Kakashi-sensei, the bastard and Sakura must be on their way_ he said to calm himself. Well, he would be no useful if he just stood around and waited. His muscles were weak and jelly, shaking with his tension and sudden movements. On a plate extended from a opening in the bars Naruto stood on unstable legs and was almost carried to his food on its aroma alone. His cotton mouth watered and he chugged the glass of water until it was spilling down the corner of his mouth and hurt his empty stomach. The tray of food would've been a second choice at any other time but he was starving. So, Naruto ate ravenously until he was satisfied and the deep heaviness of drowsiness struck him and he held the edge of the bed. _Why am I so tired? How long have I been here?_

Looking at the distance to the bars to try to get the cat lady's attention seemed like a gargantuan task on its own, sleep beckoning him to the hard slab that was a mattress. _They're on their way, I'll get some rest so I can kick some ass once they get here._

He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 **.*.+.*.**

The process of sedating and moving all the vessels was painstakingly slow and hard but eventually Konan managed to bring them above ground. Pein sat surrounded by open books, eyes sharp and focused.

"It's time" he had said and Konan nodded. Cradling an open book in the palm of his hand he waited in front of a boy, pale and red haired with his chest exposed. Pein had figured out a way to summon and seal the Bijuu with using a mixture of his own chakra but mostly the hosts, it would deplete most of their reserves and prevent their systems from physically using chakra to protect itself. He would be physically exhausted and Konan would have to help aid seal some.

Starting the ritual for the Ichibi was probably the easiest, it took his chakra but it was going to be worth it in the end. It was surprising how straightforward it was to call the beasts, but it wasn't easy. The first sealing sent the room into a frenzy, whirling papers, knocking over books and exploding a couple of glasses. The energy would become excited, and was heavy with a presence so evil it stifled their breathing. It was also , as the verses were finished and the seal was drawn in Konan's blood the room became peaceful, light and the blood bubbled, smeared black and burned into boys skin, smoke rising into the air before pulsing and disappearing altogether. It was dead silent after.

"It worked" she said slightly shocked and then she smiled, it had been a long time since Konan had smiled and for a fleeting moment so did Pein. But it

only got harder from there, the energy of some threatened to explode the room, collapse the walls and roared volatile and restless. It was unbelievingly dark and heavy. Some even threatened to wake up so Konan had to reinject the sedative and blindfold them just in case. After the fifth one they needed to take a break, sweating and trembling, resting for almost an entire day.

"We must continue" Nagato persevered and Konan followed, silent and compliant.

Shaking and sweating when Pein approached the last one, he began with the last wave of energy he had. The moment the Kyuubi was called upon it was agitated, pacing and ready to lash out. It fought the hardest, breaking a hole in one of the trees walls and almost knocking Pein out of his wheelchair. Just before it was forced into the seal on the boy's stomach it sent an overbearing, repulsive and evil shockwave of chakra out, hurling Konan and Pein into the corner.

It didn't matter how overwhelming it was, or how hard it was to breathe, close to chakra exhaustion and laying on the dirt floor, pain racing through their bodies.

They had won.


	4. Blaze of Fury

**04\. Blaze of Fury**

Pein and Konan were knocked out for what seemed like an infinite amount of time. They spent much of the next two days after awakening licking at their wounds and resting but their spirits were high and grateful. Every so often they would check the vitals of the vessels, waiting for their reawakening.

But it was on the third day that everything went to hell, and their vision slipped through the cracks of their fingers, catalysing something that they hadn't expected.

 **.*.+.*.**

Ame was under the dictatorship like rule of Hanzo of the Salamander. He was a fiendish looking man amongst one of the most powerful in the ninja world. Unknown to the Akatsuki the tense strings of hostility and forced civility had snapped, flinging Ame and its neighboring villages into a war. Nagato was an excellent sensor and while the bright flaring chakra of patrols were not unusual to the deep forests of Ame they weren't common. Nagato felt the subtle reserves of an ambush, not too far but too close to comfort.

Konan must have noticed it too because she looked to Pein, her own unique expression of alarm written over her pale features.

"I'll reinforce the barrier, make sure they don't get too close."

For the next ten minutes Nagato watched the flares of chakra in his mind unaware they were being hunted until it was too late. They snuffed out like candles, fragile and quick Once the ambush started it became intense sparking flashes of chakra until both sides became increasingly smaller, the sound of explosions and war cries permeating the atmosphere.

Both sides fought until the blinding light of chakra lulled and an overwhelming surge of chakra pushed into his mind's eye. The chakra made untainted anger flow through him and he cursed his state of health. His reserves were low and his fingers inched to fight the person, bitterness and pain driving his ambition.

It was Hanzo.

Konan could tell by the look on Pein's face, just who it was. But their options were limited with the vessels in their hands.

They couldn't fight Hanzo so the only option was to lay low and fend off any oncoming ninja. Opening holes in the trees bark Konan watched and waited. Her amber eyes skimmed the landscape of deep green until she saw ninja running and shouting. Plumes of heavy smoke erupting dancing the air,

"Fire!" She gasped and Pein grew quiet, tightly gripping the handles of the wheelchair. Hanzo came to a stop a distance away, blurred by trees and branches. She froze, watching a young man quickly approach him and whisper something in his ear.

The beady black eyes of Hanzo seemed scan the scene and land upon her, tendrils of fear rising and making her head spin. _A sensor._

"Akatsuki" he drawled in contempt and repositioned his axe. Hanzo was never far from his guards or a squadron of ninja. Through the cries of war in the distance he surveyed the landscape of trees in her direction.

"I know you're here, come out before I destroy your hideout"

Looking back at Pein Konan knew that it was either them or the vessels. Slowly, blowing gusts of fire Hanzo set alight surrounding trees like fireworks at a festival, burning bright and with the ferocity of an angered mountain lion. Panic struck Konan and her jaw tensed, turning she found Pein making his way over to the walls of the tree.

"What are you doing?" She murmured.

"We won't fight." He almost dropped the barrier that was their only safe haven and in a wild grip of panic Konan jerked on his wrist but Pein did not resist.

"For now this is what we will do, the jinchuuriki must be protected, they are chakra deprived almost on the verge of death but they will recover, we may not see it first hand but the power will become too much. I have a plan, but for now, our work is done. The Bijuus are not meant to be tamed, they will find a way on their own and then we will know peace. This is not the end." He rumbled, voice reserved and deep.

His bony hand grabs her for a second and she sees the boy she grew up with alongside the rolling muddy hills of Ame. She sees something other than the hollowed out shell that took Nagato's place after Yahiko's sacrifice.

Even though they're risking it all and laying all their cards on the table vulnerable and reckless Konan draws back and let's her face slip into passivity then helps push Pein out and around the barrier.

The guards don't wait a second, they descend like flies, restraining them painfully and Hanzo stands by, smug and superior.

A fine drizzle hits against her exposed skin and then before Konan knows it, it starts pouring.

 **.*.+.*.**

At first it's a pulling, harsh and quick like his hair is being yanked. Then it's a push, unwelcoming and resistant, treated like a ragdoll. Then it settles, the indescribable _thing_ , it settles and all he knows is that it's too crowded.

 **.*.+.*.**

His heart starts on a hard pump and he gasps like he's breached the surface of the sea after being pulled under the waves for too long. His body surges, bending like a bow and his chest burns. Huffing and choking on air his eyes fly open and he's surrounded in darkness. His hands come to protect and try to placate the burn because it hurts too much to move- _make it stop_ -and just as fast as it has his eyes watering and insides churning, it stops. It stops and he's grounded back to reality, feeling his skin to check if he's hurt but there's nothing but smooth skin. The pain gives way to shakiness and fear. It's dark and he can't see anything except for the vague flickering light somewhere in the distance. It calls to him, offering its comfort.

His first reaction is fear, surrounded and vulnerable in darkness he sits up and listens, the only sound drifting back is the snap crackle and pop of the fire. His foot moves around until the hard surface under gives way. He grips the edges of the surface he's on and his feet dip, carefully and hurriedly trying to find purchase on the ground. Once the uneven beats of his heart steady he walks around slowly, arms waving in front of him and eyes focused on the flickers of light. He crashes clumsily into objects a couple of times and it hurts where hard corners bang against his bones.

He grabs the only candle that's dying and perched high up on a platform and waves the light around him but finds nothing but cracked earthen walls and a narrow hallway. Curiosity gets the better of him and he walks back into the room, noticing the stacks of open books sitting on a table and the size of the room. It's hard to tell because his eyes strain but it's filled with script and watercolor paintings of beasts and the discovery leaves him puzzled. It's not until he reaches the opposite walls that the faint outreach of light curves around a table and catches on a dark object. It's small and it's not until he moves closer that the light warps and wraps around angles and edges that he gasps. He gasps loud and his heart almost stops, candle almost clattering to the ground.

It's a foot.

 _No, it's a girl._ She looks like she's sleeping, chest rising barely in the darkness. The faint ebbing of panic takes hold and like growing roots wraps around his mouth to stifle whatever sound might've come out.

He shifts the candle and the light brushes encroached further on something.

The light exposes the space that's filled with bodies on tables. A lot of bodies, all different shapes and sizes from their outline alone. His legs grow weak and he thinks of darting, except, of course, he doesn't know where the hell he is.

He stands statue still and listens. _Is someone here? How did I get here?_ There's no shuffle of clothes or sounds of breathing or movement in the room, he's certain he's alone.

Then he shines the light on the only empty table, the one I was on. Along the raised edges in neat handwriting is one word, a name, _Gaara_. He runs his shaky fingers over the neat symbols and he looks to the girl and expanse of still bodies. _What is this?_

She's pale with long gold hair that spills over the metal and not that tall or old. She's in dark blue and black clothes. He leans over the table to look at the name, brushing against her, _Yugito_ it reads and then there's a gasp and he's full on body checked, almost knocked over and dropping the only source of light.

The girl is curled in on herself, groaning and grabbing her shoulder and panting, black eyes wild and rattled. She looks all around, looking like she's about to fight or bolt and her horrified expression lands on his own shocked one. She trembles slightly and her voice, strained with panic and a false bravado orders,

"Who are you? What am I doing here? What's going on?" All of the answers are "I don't know" and he swallows, hearing his own voice and merely points at the empty table beside her.

The boy is short and pale from what she can tell with fire red hair and shockingly light green eyes. She looks at him wearily observing the room and swings her legs over the table.

She whispers shakily, "is there anybody else here?"

"No" She finds her own name, whispers it to herself and looks at him.

"What's your name?" She looks curious once she realizes that they're alone even though she still looks shaken and small.

"Gaara?" He says and she looks at where his name is written and stares at the ground worried and fidgets, lost in her own mind in a lapse of silence but he sees it, the metal gears are turning. _She can't remember anything either._

"Can I leave?"

"I don't know where the exit is. There's only one candle and it's almost dead" the thought jars her out of her hesitance because she's up and Gaara realizes she's taller than him.

"We need to find something, I don't wanna stay here if someone is planning something or going to return" she murmurs, eyes shifty and mind obviously racing. Yugito heads out to the hallway, eyeing him expectantly.

Gaara follows and the two walk down the only hall, finding four doorways. One is a bathroom, and the other two are rooms but they're undecorated and appear abandoned, bed made and cold. There's nothing of interest inside besides the locked drawers and shelves. The only useable weapon they find is a rickety cane tucked away in a corner. The last one is locked.

In the opposite direction is a small kitchen like room with tables and chairs. Another has couches and lamps. But at the very end there is one set of stairs going down and Gaara and Yugito look at each other, Yugito gripping the cane hard and they prepare for whatever may be down there.

They jump out from around the corner, ready for an ambush and to their surprise the long stretch of space has multiple lights, the ones overhead are broken and only a couple of lanterns are still going strong. They cast shadows across doors, all are unlocked and upon closer inspection look more like prison cells than anything else. Only the last one doesn't have a cover on the bars.

"What is this place" she hears him breathe and she nods even though he can't hear her.

"There's no one here and no exit."

"There has to be an exit" he says, more closely expecting the walls and everything within the cells.

"Maybe we should wait for the rest" she murmurs and Gaara looks unsure but eventually nods. They're on their way back to the room, rounding the corner when light springs on deep orchid.

Then there's a fraction of a moment where the world pauses. Within the pause Gaara's lantern spills light on a short tanned form with unseeing orchid eyes, hands outstretched and a straight scar on the face. He looks like a lost ghost.

There's three screams, hoarse and low and high and girlish (Gaara would never agree to screaming) but the orchid eyes look become overwhelmed. The person stumbles backwards, landing on their butt and Yugito holds the cane over her head ready to move in for the attack when someone shouts,

"Wait!"

The forms hands are outstretched and protective, hiding a face when Gaara grabs Yugito's arm mid-swing. She looks at him ghostly pale and alert. The shaking hand parts to slowly reveal a face between fingers looking curious and nervous.

They fall into silence, breathing shallow, Gaara and Yugito assessing the boy. His eyes dart between the two, Yugito with the fragile cane and Gaara with two overflowing handfuls of lanterns.

It's not until they hear the shifting of wheels that they look up in the now well lit room to a half drawn body. The person is sweating and is loudly colored in red from his hair to his clothes against the backdrop of brown. He's ready to recoil and attack, dark eyes glaring and focused on Gaara and Yugito, mouth pulled back into a fierce snarl.


	5. Dormveglia

**05\. Dormiveglia**

 **Dormiveglia- _(n.) the space that stretches between sleeping and waking._**

He looks like a caged animal, eyes blazing like wildfire, coiled and ready to spring but time stops. They all stare at each other wide eyed until the air is stifling and he narrows his dark eyes. The boy on the floor looks at them and Yugito tries to break the ice with a nervous chuckle.

"Ha. Sorry, you almost gave us a heart attack, I thought you were someone else" Gaara extends his hand until the boy caves and takes it. The man is still giving them a dirty look but draws back.

"Who?" The boy says and she blinks,

"I don't know" she says instead.

"What's going on?" The man interrupts, crass and assertive. Gaara merely shifts his seas foam eyes to the sleeping bodies and his mouth pulls into a firm line. The confusion is written into both of the male's postures and they lapse into silence.

The man eventually believes Yugito and Gaara after his interrogation,

' _Who was here? What do you remember? How do I know you're not lying?'_ and if nothing else he at least resigns himself to scrutinizing their moves. They find out the boy is Yagura and the firecracker man is Roshi, but this comes with its own set of questions from the red haired man.

Roshi gets up and out on his own to search for an escape only to come back later empty handed and reserved, expression sullen with the lines of concentration. Yagura stands off to the side quiet and alert watching how Roshi storms back in with a huff. _He finally gets that we're pretty much sitting ducks._ Yugito brushes off his presence, he makes her much too tense.

They fall into silence, prickly and uncomfortable and tense, feeling too much discomfort in even shifting their weight and somehow manage to float to different corners of the room. Gaara sits with his legs crossed and hands in his lap to Yugito's far left, his messy wine red hair hides his expression. Yagura stands across from him, arms crossed and leg propped against the wall. His purple eyes shift periodically to the tables, unsure of what to expect. Roshi is in the far right corner.

In full light Roshi and Gaara's shades of red are wildly different, Gaara's hair deeper, more like blood or wine but Roshi's hair a less intense shade, like bricks. Roshi's hair is spiky in the front and tied up in the back and he has a beard and goatee and looking to the ceiling and propping his elbow up on one knee, deep in thought, he'd look wise if he wasn't so severe.

Gaara is in all black, a white scarf partially wound around him. Yagura's short with mousey brown hair and big orchid eyes colored tan with a noticeable scar down his cheek and dressed in greens and browns the same color of the walls. He has a baby face. He hasn't said much, nothing actually, except for muttering his name, choosing rather to listen in on their conversation.

"Is there any way to wake them?" when he finally speaks, his voice is hoarse so he clears his throat, moving his eyes from person to person. Yugito looks to Gaara and then back to him, settles for a shrug.

"Haven't tried, doubt it's a good idea though"

A thoughtful look crosses his face and he nods once before silently leaving the room, three eyes trailing him.

The walls are just as cracked and dry as they had been describing them and just as crowded. Yagura finds himself standing in a silent hallway when a slight pain attacks his stomach and darts up his body that he realizes one thing.

 _I'm starving,_ he deflates and looks around greeted to locked doors and bedrooms.

Finally he happens upon the dimly lit kitchen, there's even a small round table. Everything looks undisturbed and in a strange way, homely.

He rummages through crickety cupboards and cabinets, face lighting up when he finds a it full of crackers and cookies and other things. _Thank gods this hell hole actually has some food_. _Wait, but that means that someone had to have put them here. There's no one here though, why did they leave?_ A disturbed tingle races up his spine and he grabs what his hands can hold and walks back into the room. Yagura comes to the soft shuffle of clothes along with coughing and the fast, jerky movements of what looks like a familiar pain.

The first one that rouses is very largely built with strong arms and legs and very tall in dark clothes, olive skin, mahogany hair and light brown eyes that snap open at them alive with alert and recoil in pain.

Almost immediately a second one wakes and begins coughing the second he breathes in deeply, black hair falls over his face and falls back with a groan of discomfort. Arm thrown over face amber eyes open drowsily and look them over for a second before growing wide and still.

Yugito is close to the boy studying him carefully when a shade of red spreads over his stunned face and he blinks at her. Yagura rounds around the table, curious at what's going on but they all look at him incredulously.

A surge of heat floods his face and he smiles if only slightly,

"Sorry, I was hungry" he murmurs and the big one glares at him and shifts to sit up very slowly. The black haired boy still looks stunned, looking between everyone.

"What do you want?" The man glares at them and looks to the baffled boy besides him and the shiny metal of empty and full medical tables. A soft whine distracts Yagura and he turns to find a girl, no more than fourteen writhing and breathing unevenly.

"We don't want anything, we've been waiting for you all to wake up" Roshi drawls and comes around to the girl and leans against the table. The large man's confusion crosses his face and his anger stifles a bit at their non threatening presence.

Roshi's face pulls tight and his eyebrows furrow, the girl sounds like she's choking and when Yagura reaches out his hand to gently wake her clementine eyes snap open against mint hair and she grabs his wrist. Yagura almost jerks his hand back but fights it.

"Hey, hey, hey, just breathe, it's ok. We're not trying to hurt you"

She looks around to them with fear but her breathing gradually returns to normal. Gaara moves to check in on the other two, they're both blond and one is laying on their side, a boy and a girl. It isn't until he comes face to face with the girl that he stops and looks up to Yugito mildly surprised.

"She looks just like you" he says.

Yugito's mouth forms into a blank 'o' then her face turns doubtful,

"What?"

She rushes over to the table and finds a girl, short, blonde hair, and dressed in similar colors.

She looks like a child.

"No she doesn't" she breathes, adamant but quiets once she raises her hand in comparison. A gasp escapes her and wriggles her fingers, same skin, same size...even same nails. She picks up the girl's hand to look at her palm when there's a noise and a blur of color.

Yugito doesn't register the fist coming towards her face until she's tripping backwards over her own feet and her hands meet the cold ground,

And that's when shit _really_ hits the fan.

 **.*.+.*.**

There's almost an instant uproar of noise. Gaara and Yagura help Yugito and try to calm the hysterical girl who looks like a poked and prodded caged animal. The big man in red is talking lowly to Roshi, oozing hostility more than anything else and the medical tables squeak as the boy and the man slowly start to rise up. The orange eyed girl is curled on the table, quick eyes looking for an exit.

 **.*.+.*.**

He's choking on what he can only describe as darkness. It's a state of floating, it's not peaceful because he's spinning and he's pulled in all directions and can't seem to get a grip on anything. Mentally and physically. There's a presence, it's impatient and behind the smoke and mirrors of darkness but he feels it, it's alive and breathing.

And it's not happy.

He wakes up to a heart attack. It feels like he's been stopped and restarted just in time, lungs burning and muscles relaxed but racing with sharp pain. It's the worst in his stomach, what seems like hot metal pushes hard against him and brands his skin making stars float behind his eyes. His hand quickly comes up to clutch his stomach, his skins tightening and spasming on the outside. His eyes fly open and he leans forward, heaving and gagging and amidst the bombardment of pain his senses come to him and the pain epicenters in his stomach and quickly ebbs away to nothing. When he looks up he almost doesn't register the complete madness behind his blurry eyesight.

There's a dull collection of people scattered all around but if he's honest it's their wild movements that tells him there's people even there. That and the overlapping sound of unsure voices.

 _What_? He ignores their distraction, feeling like he's stumbled upon an emergency, ignorant and alone and completely unprepared. There's a pain in his stomach again and he whimpers.

His vision clarifies with the help of focus and a series of expressions break through the fog ranging from fear to panic to shock and indignance. There's a girl with wild eyes on the floor and her mirror image sitting next to him with fist mid air. _'Get off me! Where am I!?'_ They're breathing harshly and a boy with bloody red hair merely blinks at them, another making calming motions, _'It's ok just calm down.'_ A further ways down is a tan girl with mint green hair staring at them all, his eyes catch her big orange ones and her open mouth close shuts. There's indistinguishable murmuring from two men at the opposite end of the room, locked in a heated dispute.

Awareness slowly washes over him and he looks at all the scattered lanterns and boring walls and tables overflowing with books and he's befuddled.

 _What?_

He closes his eyes needing to draw the energy to do anything because he's so drained.

"What did you do to me!?" The girl screeches, he hears her drawing back against the wall besides him.

"I told you nothing! We all woke up in here too and we don't know what's going on!" The other one screams back, her voice is higher than the first one and more frustrated than anything.

"We're stuck" a voice says deep and somewhat monotone and everyone quiets.

"What do you mean, we're stuck here? How'd we get here?" A gruffer voice says somewhat at a distance.

"Someone had to have put us here" says a boyish voice and another deep voice says somewhat snide,

"Well what do you last remember? What's your name?"

"My name? My name is..." the boy starts out confident but quiets, his mind unable to supply the answers he wants and he swallows. He almost feels him sink in on himself.

"How long have we been here?" He murmurs and there's silence.

"No one knows we're all just waiting for everyone to.." The sound of crinkling plastic disrupts them and they turn to find the last table empty, the most colorful of the bunch with his back turns towards them with the box of crackers tipped into his mouth and devouring the whole thing.

He doesn't realize he's attracted attention until he feels the heat of stares on his back and there's a rainbow of eyes on him and he blinks at them, vaguely startled. The one with mousey brown hair looks at him,

"Looks like the gangs all here."

"What?" He says because even though he heard them it just doesn't make sense.

The man with brick red hair looks around at them all

"We should leave now before anyone comes and take what we can"

"Who's coming?" He says around a mouthful of food and is promptly ignored.

The one with orchid eyes nods, "I'm pretty sure there a lot more weapons we can use if we look again. Do you still have the cane?" He turns to the blonde girl and she looks somewhat confused.

"That's not gonna help, it already broken."

"It's something" the redhead boy says and they all nod in agreement.

"Someone's coming?" The large man says and redhead man tips his head towards him "we don't know for sure but we can't rule it out and we don't wanna stick around if they do considering we woke up here."

"What?!" Slips out again and he feels acid riding up his throat again because this feels like a bad dream and clearly he's overdue to wake up. The girl goes up to the other two girls who are clearly shaken and scared.

"We'll explain when we get the chance but right now we need to move"

There's a pause, all looking at each other unsure until they all silently come to an agreement, not that they have much choice and all shift to get up.

"Wait, what the hell is going on!" He says in slowly mounting frustration from being ignored and still hungry and confused. The boy comes up to him, he's got a scar down his cheek like stitches and puts his hand on his shoulder,

"Here. Come, you're gonna help me..." He looks over his shoulder and tries to look friendly,

"Naruto. I'm Yagura, I think."

 **.*.+.*.**

Naruto doesn't know who Naruto is or who he claims to be. He's seen the name scribbled on the table, just merely a label and its foreign but it doesn't sound wrong. His thoughts wrestle with him while they rummage through the pantry and whatever supplies are available. He thinks it odd that he was the last one to wake up. Yagura has half his body almost inside a cabinet, shuffling through for anything of use. They've already found some knives, but there's not much of use, besides the food there's no evidence anything's even been touched.

"Who would choose to live here? Where even are we?"

"I don't know, what if they're psychos? Who would choose to live like this?"

There's the sound of distant pounding and grunting, the giant, Han and black haired lanky boy, Utakata trying to break down one of the doors by mere force. In another room the short redhead, Roshi and the orange girl, Fu are trying to pick locks and downstairs the redhead boy, Gaara is looking for anything. The twins, Yugito and Mariko are searching the main room.

"How are we going to move this stuff?"

"I'm not sure no one really said anything"

"What are we going to do once we get out?"

"I don't think anyone's planned that far ahead." Naruto looks around the undecorated room the table with two chairs both pushed neatly in. On the table sits a small vase with a couple paper flowers.

To think someone actually took the time to make these. "Look", he says instead.

His fine eyebrows go up, "see, I'm telling you, psychos." Looking at them makes heavy dread rises within Naruto that leaves him cold but he can't help but take one. It isn't only until he's placed it safely in his pocket that he realizes he's only wearing one shoe.

 **.*.+.*.**

Utakata and Han work in silence, taking alternating turns pushing on the door and if he's honest Han is more than just mildly intimidating based on sheer size alone.

The man's a giant and he doesn't want to step on anyone's toes. It's too much of a hassle to cause trouble when they all have the same goal. There's snippets of conversation down the hall to fill the silence and eventually Utakata pushes on the wood door hard enough and Han charges, breaking the lock and causing a deep jagged crack through the wood that sends them flying to the floor with half shouts and tangled limbs. Utakata almost suffocates beneath Han but he apologizes adamantly.

They're still lying on the floor when they look up and their mouths fall open with small pop. The room is like any of the other ordinary bedrooms except for the series weapons laying around and the pile of items on the bed.

"Whoa" Utakata breathes.


	6. 06 Déjà Vu

**06\. Déjà Vu**

"Looks like we got lucky" Han whispers and he extends his hand to Utakata and uses less than gentle force tugging him up making Utakata almost trip over himself.

The room is an exact replica of the rest except for the extra items scattered throughout the room.

"Look at these" Utakata says watching how the minimal light bounces off the glossy 's a series of knives in pouches lining a small desk and inside the drawers. They're dangerously sharp and have a circular grip. Han looks pleased as he inspects them.

"These are going to be really useful. Good job"

It sounds weird to Utakata but he merely nods, feeling heat bloom under his skin.

"Were these ours?" Utakata muses out loud.

"I doubt it" Han says

"Look at these" he points.

On the bed is a mini pile of things. There's a container like backpack that's apple red, inside is some more sharp knives, water and granola bars, some hair clips, multiple strange looking scroll type things and strange enough a couple of dead flowers.

"Strange combination" Han whispers to himself while Utakata is in the corner looking at a large staff like weapon with a flower at the end. _This must belong to one of the girls, but a staff? They're all my age.._

Deep in the pile Han finds a pouch with a frog wallet inside.

"Naruto Uzumaki" he reads the chicken scratch writing.

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

"It's hideous orange. These really are our things then" Han concludes and pulls out a face plate and guard, _what's this?_ , a rectangle of discolored wood sits on the front and Han frowns to himself. They find a giant gourd that resides in the corner with of all things inside, sand.

The chuckle draws Han's attention and Utakata flashes him a wire-like looking pipe and what looks like soap of some sort and smirks.

"If this really is our stuff we must've been a wild bunch" Han almost snorts and when he turns he's greeted to a large full out bloody red armor suit hanging up behind the door. Utakata manages to drift to his side, mouth agape.

"You must've been intense."

 **.*.+.*.**

"Do you know how to pick a lock?" Fu says and Roshi stops to give her a look,

"I can't say I remember"

She figures it was worth a shot. The people are alright so the fear and shock of waking up are gone and while she's not pleased with the situation she's no longer panicked. Roshi, if anything is less pleased than she is. She figures it's weird because they're in the same situation and don't know the same amount of things, _unless he's lying. But can't be lying, what would he be lying about anyway?_ She hums and Roshi says "pass me the knife." It's bent and he basically tries to break the lock to open the drawers. Fu is trying the same thing and it's worked for one that turned out having nothing inside. She sits on the other side of the desk, slouching forward and Roshi catches her looking miserable.

"At least we're leaving soon" he says wiggling the tip and her face lights up once the drawer pops open. Inside are a series of plates, they're inconspicuous at best and Roshi freezes at the sight of his distorted reflection. Fu rises on her knees and looks at herself too.

"What are these?" She says after a pause, more to herself as she holds one up by its cloth and inspects the symbols engraved on them. There are eleven in total that are unknotted and the fabric wrinkled, two with a jagged line crossed through the symbol.

 **.*.+.*.**

Standing besides someone that shares her face creeps her out but somewhat comforting. _At least I'm not alone_. The only real difference between her and Yugito is the length of their hair, hers cut to her shoulders and Yugito's in a braid down her back. She's excited but uneasy about their discovery, _What's even out there? What if it's just a trap?_

They stand around and wait, listening to the footsteps until Naruto appears around the hall, hands filled with boxes and cans. Yagura appears right after.

"Did you guys find anything?" Naruto asks and Mariko realizes how much he sticks out against the dirt walls in obnoxious orange that strangely suits him. She smiles a little and nods and they look somewhat relieved.

They're disrupted by Gaara and Roshi and Fu walking in, Gaara comes in sullen and empty handed and Roshi carries a single object in his hand. The last ones to come are Utakata and Han who have their hands full with objects.

Han is also in a red full body armor suit.

"Whoa!" Naruto says and his blue eyes go wide, along with a range of surprised faces.

"What's that?" Roshi asks and only Han's eyes look to him.

"Its armor, red armor. I'm not sure what's strapped to the back but it must be mine since it's only big enough to fit me." Something about his voice sounds excited and he's more exuberant than last.

"This is all we could find" Yagura gestures to the small pile of food that's not enough for nine.

"We found these, we can figure something out" Han says as Utakata shows the knives and lays out what they find.

"This is for you. It has your name in it" he hands Naruto a frog wallet and he bursts into a grin at the sight of money and his name.

"Uzumaki Naruto" he says twice to himself and his fingers run over the grooves of silicone and makes a face. _A frog?_

That's not even all we found" Utakata chips in excitedly.

"How do you know these are all ours?" Fu asks and Utakata shrugs.

"They were the only things in the room.

"Well we found these" Roshi flashes them a shiny metal plates.

"There were eleven of them, two with scratches. There's only nine of us, it was all we found in the locked drawers."

The air still around them still at the inclination.

"There was two more?" Gaara says and then he shakes his head.

"I woke first, it was completely dark and there was only nine tables."

"Someone had to have put them there" Mariko said shifting her eyes between the group.

"Yeah, but then how'd they get out if we couldn't find a way out?" Yagura presses and Yugito and Mariko share a look.

"We found a crack" she says. "It was along one of the walls I don't know how we didn't find it earlier. It's a peephole actually."

"Where!?" Some exclaim in unison and the two girls show them hidden in one of the corners of the walls where there's an opening.

"I don't see anything!" Fu exclaims, beating everyone and she moves away only for Marikos finger to disappear into the opening. When she takes it out Fu sticks her orange eye to it, eagerly pressing herself against the wall and feels the steady breeze of air hit her eye. There's no light but she sees shadows of what looks like trees and leaves but most importantly, that close she can hear the chirps of crickets and owls and the wind whistling through the trees so she gasps.

"There has to be a bigger opening if two people left" Fu says with a silent _duh_ at the end.

"We can't find anything else though" Yugito says with eyes narrowed and Han steps forward.

"If that's all we've got then that's what we work with."

"What if the hole was made from the other side?" Gaara says and the excitement in the room dies down.

"It's not safe if we stay here" Roshi persist and looks to the rest, "how are we going to tear the wall down then?"

"We could use these!" Naruto exclaims holding up one of the pointed knives.

They turn to him and Mariko raises her eyebrows at him, "I don't think that's going to do anything"

Naruto pouts, "there's a lot and we've got lots of people"

"That's going to take forever!" Fu sasses Naruto and he bristles, grabs one and they watch as he puffs out his chest and goes over to the wall. He plunges the knife deep in and drags it down the wall. It's not easy and he has to use almost all his body weight but he manages to make the hole a split. He pushes and tries to pry it open with no progress until Han pushes on it too, but it still doesn't budge.

"Here" Utakata comes over with a knife and crosses the wall horizontally with help of Roshi. Han gives him a look but he ignores him and together they manage to create cracks and breaks in the wall and they push until their combined weight makes the wall give way and they tumble through, an avalanche of bodies intertwined and uncomfortable.

Naruto yelps and thrashes against all the bodies because he can't breathe and cries of pain and protest swarm in his ears.

"Stop hitting me!

"That's my face!

"Get off me!"

"You guys are so heavy! I can't breathe!"

They push at each other and Gaara carefully steps out of the jagged hole they've created and around the mess of bodies, he'd figured something of the sort was going to happen.

The world is in the hushed lull of a peaceful night. The sky is almost black, and the only guiding light is the waning moon. The canopy parts in some places, filtering in patchy light like hopscotch on a playground. The trees are a deep green and huge, towering for stories above.

When Gaara turns back to the others, they're grumbling and dusting themselves off

"We came out of that?" Naruto exclaims, shock of yellow hair tilted up and looking at the tree with the destroyed bark and gaping hole.

A tree? Gaara raises his eyebrow and feels the chill of the breeze raise goosebumps on his arms.

"How is that even possible?" Yugito murmurs and slowly turns to look around the forest.

"Maybe we should set up here for the night?" Han says and Roshi snorts.

"We just got out, what if the other two come back?"

"What if the other two already left?" He fires back and Roshi sighs, "it's not a good idea, we can travel a little"

"We have the most light here, once we step out were in dense forest. We can at least wait until morning."

"We should travel a little and then keep going in morning, at least out of sight of anyone in case they come"

"He's got a point" Yagura says and Han secedes, although unpleased and they pack up what they have more securely.

"So...which way are we going?" Mariko pivots on one foot as a squirrel rustles in a bush before darting up a tree.

It seems they're in the middle of nowhere, any way leads to an endless maze of trees.

"Let's head that way" Naruto says towards the most lit direction. They merely shrug and push forwards into the dense forest, traveling alongside each other with branches swatting at their faces and scratching at their skin.

He's not really sure for how long they travel, all he knows is that everyone voices their own share of complaints and grumbles, stumbling over the unevenly lit bumpy terrain with clumsy feet.

When he gets tired of getting only peeks of the starry sky, curiosity gets the best of him and Utakata pulls out the wire looking pipe.

"You know I found a bubble pipe" he says out loud to no one in particular.

"Bubbles?" Fu says and she turns to look at what he's holding, the outline of her cheek and the sparkle in her eyes the only thing he can see clearly.

"Why would someone carry around bubbles, that's dumb" Naruto says

"Well, maybe they're special to someone" Fu says and Naruto turns his face to them, "are they your bubbles?" He asks sincerely and Fu merely makes a sound of uncertainty.

"Blow some bubbles" she says to Utakata and he looks down at their excited and dirty faces.

"Sure, why not, it's a nice night" someone scoffs ahead of them and he ignores them.

"Everyone loves bubbles" Yugito says, elbowing Mariko who grumbles something and flashes Utakata a small friendly smile.

"It'll cheer us up, go ahead" Utakata clears his throat and avoids looking right into her eyes, feeling the heat of knowing stares on him. They're still walking and he tilts his face up, blowing the bubbles in front of him, watching how the pipe produces little bubbles, filmy and showing a rainbow. Fu and Naruto reach out to pop them but they quickly dance out of their reach and carried away to the far right riding the breeze. They float into the darkness of the forest where they vibrate and begin to distort, the transparent film turning into sludgy purple black coating. Utakata has his mouth open and up to the pipe when he feels a small wave-fluctuation of something within him and with the loudness and colors of firecrackers, there's an explosion in the forest.

It lights up the night sky and forest's green beautifully, overwhelmingly and the shouts are drowned out but all he knows is that moss is coldly pushing against his face with his head spinning and the air knocked out of his lungs.


	7. Basic Instinct

**07\. Basic Instinct**

 _[Convivencia-(n.) lit. "living together", in the sense of living or working closely with other people with whom you share feelings, desires, or a common purpose]_

The stars dance wildly behind his eyes but when he's met with the still white ones in the sky a grip jerks him harshly upwards and forces him into a full sprint. He can't hear the others shouts because the ringing in his ears is drowned out by the thumping of his heart. There's no sound besides the harsh breathing of those around him and the quick sharp sounds of snapping twigs and rustling branches and shrubs. The shadows that encroach on the corners of his eyes recede and his vision adjusts to the darkness. Yugito runs ahead of him under strobes of moonlight, long hair flying about and the couple of branches that she misses swat and scratch at his skin.

He's not sure for how long they run heel to toe but he looks behind him to find nothing but the dense shadows of swaying trees. His legs burn with the heavy urge to give out and the his lungs ache with stress.

Yugito leads them down a bumpy trail, and when they cross the lip of a cave Yagura pops out from the darkness and waves them back over. Yagura looks behind Yugito and Utakata as they race past him and into the cover of shadows, the others are already safe and waiting inside. He puts his finger up to his lips. Yagura waits by the border of the small cave, it's just tall enough for him so Roshi has to hunch over and Han is crouched and squashed in the back, but it's really quite funny actually.

They wait for a long time, not a peep from anyone and eventually it's clear that they're not being followed. He signals an all clear and moves aside so he can watch them shuffle out of the cave.

"Phew that was close" Naruto says, voice a little too high and is quickly shushed.

"That was not close, _close_ would've been not getting chased" Gaara says and Naruto looks thoughtful.

"At least they didn't find us" he says dusting off his clothes.

"At least we found a hiding spot" Yugito says stretching her muscles, trying to prevent any bickering. Most of them crawl out with a creak of the bones and a groan of pain. It's still the dead of night and crickets and birds serve as the only company.

"Maybe we should stay here" Naruto says and plops down on the dirt ground.

"I think that is way too close of a call to stay here" Mariko says and looks around the forest.

"Maybe we could look for them? Maybe they could help" Fu says and Yugito sits besides her as she starts digging through the pile of belongings they brought, they're all bunched within sheets they stole and the red container.

"Someone tried to blow us up into a thousand bits! I don't think that's a good idea" Mariko says and she runs a hand through her tangled hair.

"Besides, if a bomb did go off there must be some kind of conflict here, I don't want to be caught in the crossfire" Yagura says and leans against a tree.

"Let's go further, we can find someone or a way out in the morning" Roshi says and with heavy feet they reassemble all their gear. Han leads the way continuing north and carries the heavier of things.

Taking careful steps over the uprooted trees and mosses Han says "I wonder how that was even triggered"

"What do you mean? Yagura says and Roshi makes a somewhat condescending noise, "I didn't hear anyone coming or moving, that may have been a trap we walked straight into, in which case they might be looking for us"

"But we lost them!" Fu chirps and Roshi looks to the sky.

"This forest seems way too big for just one trap, kid." He looks to her and she's gone quiet with thought.

"Do you hear that?" She perks up instead and they all freeze. There's a subtle sound of rushing under the night melodies of owls and insects.

"Is that...water?" Utakata says with raised eyebrows.

"Let's go! I'm so thirsty!" Naruto says and rushes ahead but just before he can bolt past them Roshi grabs the collar of his jacket,

"But if there's water there's bound to be people, and from the looks of it they're not too friendly"

"I'll go" Yugito offers, "I can be quiet"

"I'll go then too" Mariko adds quickly.

"No, I'll go, I blend in more with the shadows" Utakata says and Yugito looks to him vaguely put off.

"You sure?" Han asks and he nods once.

"I'll go with you, provide a distraction if something goes wrong" Yagura says.

They leave the group amongst the trees and move with controlled, small movements, but they can't help but rustle a couple of leaves or crack a couple of twigs. Yagura walks in front and Utakata would never admit to ducking behind him more than was comfortable. Yagura comes to a dead stop and Utakata crashes into his back.

"A little space?"

"Sorry" he murmurs sheepish and takes a step back.

The bushes get lower and the moss turns to dirt. The rush of water roars in the distance and the trees part to the sight of water pouring into the glassy reflection of a smooth body of water. The moon blurs with gentle laps of waves and the dirt turns to sand.

"Wow" he breathes and Utakata agrees. Leading along the outskirts they search the forest and find no one. They rush to tell the other's the news but end up and nearly getting steaked in the process.

"It's a waterfall!" Utakata exclaims and they move with more energy in their steps, quicker and lighter. When arrive at the clearing they set their things down and for the first time they see the blurred vague features of their reflections. When Naruto pulls away from the water he sees fish racing under and it feels like he's dreaming. The clearing looks like it's straight out of a fairytale.

"Hey there's fish here!" Naruto yells but they scram in a flash.

"That means we're going to have to hunt some" Han says. Naruto misses the uncertain look on his face.

 **.*.+.*.**

They manage to divide duties amongst themselves evenly, Han will probably scare away the fish so he's tasked to get firewood with Gaara and Utakata. Yagura and Fu unpack and set up camp while Naruto, Roshi and the twins fish in the lake.

Supplied with one of the funny looking knives Naruto rolls up his pants and grabs some ferns and ties the knife flimsily to a branch he's found.

"Good idea" Yugito says besides him but in the indigo darkness of the forest all he sees is the curves of her face. He smiles a bit and stabs it into the ground.

"I figured it was better than squatting and trying to stab them"

They wade to knee deep water and wait. Naruto's patience is very thin and he sighs in annoyance. He focuses on finding the flashes of silver and once he does he moves in closely but they always end up darting away. _Stupid fish._ The other three aren't faring any better. Mariko manages to spear the first fish,

"How'd you do that?" Naruto whispers and she stands still like a statue.

"You have to let them come to you"

Naruto mulls this over and watches everyone else do the same and soon Roshi has another fish on the tip of his spear. After a couple of moments Naruto still can't get anything and his nostrils flare in irritation.

"Just give it some time" Yugito says quietly watching him and he grunts at her. _Easy_ _for her to say, she's caught some already._ So Naruto squats there, mildly pouting waiting for fish and when one swims close enough to nip at his toes Naruto throws his spear into the ground and almost falls back on his butt.

"Brat watch what you're doing!" Roshi growls and the twins groan.

"Now all the fish are gone!" Mariko says and gives both a stink eye.

Naruto stands up in a flash and his irritation flares again.

"Well sorry! I've been trying but I can't seem to get any!...stupid fish" Naruto throws down his spear in anger and watches in dim curiosity as it moves about on its own and slowly comes to a stop. A silver fish slowly bobs to the surface and his face goes slack. Someone lets out an entertained noise.

"Well there ya go" Yugito says with a giggle and Naruto sulks.

 **.*.+.*.**

The owls have long since gone to sleep so it's only the insects and crickets that chit chat to keep them company. Among the vast unknown enormity of the forest they stick close together. Gaara can easily find Han, the intensity of his suit is like a beacon of its own and he moves with a fluidity that is surprising for someone of his size. Utakata blends in too well with the shadows. Gaara has a small pile of firewood in his hands when he catches flashes of lights and thinks his eyes are playing tricks on him.

The light flashes a couple of feet away and Gaara finds himself standing straight and looking around in confusion.

"Look" comes Hans soft voice from his left and Gaara looks closely at the small flies that turn on and off like lightbulbs and move in a dance randomly around them.

Utakata comes from his right and the flies bathe the forest in pale light, making a path of their own.

Han gets a strange look over his face and Utakata looks to him.

"What?"

"...I don't know. I just..." He stares at the sight and Gaara can see the gears turning in his head but he shakes his head and quickly turns in the direction of the camp.

"Nothing. Let's go"

 **.*.+.*.**

Fu sits with her arms around her legs while Yagura, Han and Utakata try to start a fire. Gaara sits beside her solemnly and lets them do as they please.

Eventually they light a flame and cheer, there's even a faraway shout from the fishers of celebration. It doesn't take long for everyone to migrate around the fire.

Eventually they make some progress and the fish are cooking over the fire.

Around the fire pit is all of the belongings that they took with them. Silence falls over them and the spit and crackle of fire fills the spaces.

"I wonder where we are" Fu says. Naruto makes a noise of question while nosing through the container until he pulls out the scrolls and examines them carefully, turning them over both ways.

"I wonder what these are?" He says and rummages deeper through the red container and pulls out another. He's about to close it when the light from the fire spills under the lid and aluminates what's carved underneath.

"Fu" he reads and her head perks up.

"What?" She says looking uncertain.

"What? No, it says Fu right here"

"Really?" She says and scoots closer to the container and looks partially stunned. _This is mine?_

Naruto hands the scrolls to her and she tries to open them but there's no seal and she tries to force it open but it won't budge.

"Could you open this?" She looks to Roshi and sighs through his nose as if it would kill him but takes it regardless. Han huffs in amusement when he clearly struggles so Roshi throws it a little too roughly at him.

"You open it then" he almost growls. Han gives him a dry look but it's obvious that even he can't open it by force so he tries different mechanisms such as hitting it against the log he's sitting on and breaking it in half but even that doesn't work.

Fu pouts.

"You might need some special tool to pry it open" Roshi adds and doesn't comment on her disappointed nod. Instead he breathes in deeply, smelling fish a little too close to burnt for comfort so he plucks his food and soon there's a mess of arms, glares and voices fighting over the biggest piece. Fu almost bites Naruto. Yagura placates them by surrendering some granola bars.

It's not enough but it's something to maintain them into the future.

"Where are we going next?" Yugito asks around her half eaten fish.

"...I figure if we follow the river we're bound to find someone." Roshi says when there's no resistance they fall back into contemplative silence. It doesn't take long for fatigue to catch up to them, weighing down their eyelids and rendering them sluggish. First it's Roshi and Utakata that offer to keep watch at night just in case. They don't talk sitting across from each other and watch the sparks of fire dance into the starry filled night.

All the bodies are splayed out across from each other almost haphazardly but within the reach of the light. Blankets are scrunched up and used as pillows. Han is sleeping against the log for support, Yugito and Mariko are sleeping close together while Fu, Naruto and Gaara aren't close to each other but around the fire. Yagura's messy hair is not too far from Utakata's foot.

Utakata can't find many words to fill the awkward a silence and among those that swirl in his head he comes up with "I feel dirty."

"What" says Roshi with a confused look on his face, Utakata can't imagine him looking anything but serious all the time.

"I feel dirty, like I've rolled around in mud" he says and Roshi actually cracks a small smirk.

"What?" it's Utakatas turn to be confused.

"No it's funny how that's what you think of when we don't even know where we are or going for that matter"

He gets an easy shrug from the boy. A sense of emptiness fills him and he looks back up to the stars while Utakata props his head against the bark and lets his eyes narrow. He feels like an outcast, a literal ant in the forest and wonders with an unsettling churn in his stomach, _is anyone looking for me?_

 **.*.+.*.**

The first thing that he notices is that there's sand between his toes. It's gritty and hot and uncomfortable but he doesn't sweat. For miles in any direction there's nothing but sand dunes. They look soft enough that he wants to disrupt their smooth surface. It isn't as unsettling as it would appear, if anything, slightly calming. The heat from the angry crimson sunset distorts everything into a haze and in a blink of his eyes it gone.

He's all alone.

" ** _Where is_ he _you're not_ him**" comes from nowhere but everywhere. The voice is inhuman and he doesn't know if it's unstable with anger or insanity but it crawls under his skin and he can taste the fear in his mouth like blood.

 _What? Who are you?_ He doesn't feel his lips moving but he speaks clearly into the dunes

" ** _I should kill you now and get it over with. What do you even plan to achieve, you're nothing but a child. A mortal._** " It spits out.

 _What do you want? I don't know what you're talking about_.

" _ **You don't even know what I am! Your small brain couldn't even fathom what I am...what I can do!**_ " The voice roars and where the sun set was is two eyes golden like the glittering sand and right in the center is a black diamond surrounded by four black dots. The sky seems to cave in on itself and bleed black and the dunes rise like waves from the most volatile of seas. Two claws spring from the ground and the sand easily falls away from them. They're covered in blue swirls which seem to pulse in sync with the suffocating anger that presses against him and whatever noise of panic he makes dies in his throat.

Cold fear digs its nails into his muscles and slowly drags itself up leaving him lightheaded and with a heart ready to burst screaming in his weak lungs. Wild eyed with panic he jerks back to find the blue marked sand slowly crawling up his feet. His balance is thrown off and as soon as he comes in contact with the ground it falls away to nothing. The sand flies away with the easiness of breadcrumbs and the claw encompasses him up in its grip. From the slivers between the claws the eyes reappear and there's a cackle-no growl that ricochets within his bones. The eye looks right at him.

" ** _I have a message for him. I am no one's_ pet** **_to tame, I_ will _break free and I_ will _find him and I_ will _kill him. Whether I'm bound to you or not I will kill you and then I will kill anyone you've ever cared about."_**

The claw lets him fall and he feels his throat working, moving, screaming but he doesn't hear himself. When he looks down he sees the same soft dunes and blue marks like clouds in the sky. His limbs feel like nothing and the ground approaches closer and closer and the world turns black, but just before it does he hears the sickening _crack_ of his shattering bones.

Gaara awakes with a jump and stares wide eyed right into the fire's embers. Fear and cold sweat cling to him and his hands shake. He blinks quickly and steadies his breathing. He sits up on weak arms and looks around to the sleeping bodies and Utakata and Roshi. He captures their attention and they give him a look but don't ask. He takes a second to find his voice and hears the subtle tremor when he asks them if they want to switch places. Utakata agrees and looks like he wants to say something but instead goes to find an empty space and lay down.

Gaara moves to sit against the tree and works hard to calm his heart, his legs race with restlessness. _It was just a dream. Nothing more, calm down._

He sits, mostly left to his minds own devices until the sun starts to rise, the angry crimson of it as breathtaking as it is unnerving.


	8. Those Who Wander Are Kinda Lost

**08\. Those That Wander Are Kinda Lost**

 **Pygalgia-(n.) a pain in the ass, literally**

The sun burns slightly too strong on scattered parts on her skin when she wakes up. With bleary eyes pain shoots up her neck and she feels the steady breathing of someone below. Specks of gold shine into her eyes and she pushes away whoevers hair is on her face. The sky looks very blue and clear and the leaves act as a border at her peripherals. Yugito is still fast asleep on the forest floor and Mariko lays on her like she's a pillow. She aches everywhere and and her limbs feel stiff and heavy.

The fire has long since died and she looks around to find everyone still asleep, even Han who was supposed to keep guard is slumped against the tree and a sight to behold in the bloody red armor. That is until she turns to find the shocking vibrancy of Gaara's green eyes and slightly frazzled face.

"You kept guard all night?" She asks and he blinks before he shakes his head.

"I got enough sleep" is all he says and grunts at his cracking joints.

The others start to shift and rouse slowly. Yugito starts with something reminiscent to a snort and sits up with a birds nest plastered to the back of her head.

And so begins the process of getting up.

The sun is high and bright in the sky but she can tell it's still not noon yet. Fu hums with energy the second she's up and Roshi puts up his hand, "please" is all he says with a dull expression. It quiets her down real fast. Everyone else rises without so much of an issue.

That is of course for Naruto and Yagura.

Han gets up with a couple of extra shakes but for Naruto a couple of extra shakes gets a snore and the more they shake the louder the snores get. Yagura curls tighter around the pillow and moves away from the poking hands, he even frowns in his sleep. Yugito quickly wrestles from him the makeshift pillow and watches the way his orchid eyes rattle around in his head before he's fully responsive. Fu quickly tickles Naruto's barefoot and he squirms and shoots up almost kicking her in the face and starting a full out fight.

At this point they're lucky if they move before noon.

 **.*.+.*.**

Fu has been attached to her red container ever since she woke. She straps it to her back as if testing it out and thinks, _what now?_ She struggles with the thought that since it's hers it should feel right. _What did I even use this for?_ It's big and bulky and the straps dig into her shoulders in ways that are uncomfortable and suffocating. She tugs on it for the rest of the trek down the river, it's refreshing from being stuck under the heat of the sun even though they don't stop moving. They don't talk, the birds and the insects provide enough background noise.

She isn't sure for how long they travel but she's about ready to complain when she notices the trees start to thin out, the river keeps rolling for as far as she can see but soon Han pushes through the last of the trees they break right onto the side of a worn dirt trail. The sun bears down hard on them and directly to their right is a bridge.

It's a relief to say the least that they finally stumbled along some evidence of people nearby. They proceed to take the bridge and down the winding hills, a city sits at the base.

 **.*.+.*.**

The city has huge wooden gates and engraved on a plaque in the center it reads:

Welcome to Sadai! The City of Fun and Relaxation! Enjoy Your Stay!

Crowds of people wander in and out of the village easily, they're of all ages and sizes and up close the gates open to the skyline of high rise buildings and the hustle and bustle of bodies all around. People notice and don't notice at the same time, the ones that do look at them longer than just a passing glance and quickly look away. She can only wonder what they look like, they all have scratches and dirt on them, clothes worn and dirty and Naruto is still missing a shoe. She doesn't notice it at first, it's subtle but the way the sunlight bounces off metal is hard to ignore. It isn't until they pass a man with a metal plaque on his forehead that it clicks and she realizes it is the same plaque she has sliding at the bottom along the edges of her container.

Eventually they stop somewhere along the outskirts of the center strip of the city, near the quiet of a park. People pay them more attention there but are decent enough to turn away. _What now?_

"Did you see that?" Mariko asks and they all look silently to her, she opens Fu's container and she bristles, ready to yell at her when she reaches her hand out and pulls it out with the unique plaque in her hand.

"Some of them were wearing these but not with the same symbol"

"We need a map of some sort" Gaara says in a soft voice and they fall into contemplative silence.

Yagura spots a bulletin board and wanders over to it quickly looking at the layout of the city and the dull 'you are here' marker. His fingers trace the streets and through the heart of the city.

"How much money do you have?" He says to Naruto.

 **.*.+.*.**

Roshi and Han split up looking for anything that could provide any help while the rest carry on to their own devices.

Yagura peers quickly into the passing shops until he spots a golden cat clock with moving eyes and tail, he seems entranced until Gaara makes his presence known with a low huff and he merely gives him a side eye and keeps moving. He quickly spots the shop he's looking for and slips in, the chime of a full bell greets them and Gaara notices it's an equipment store. Pictures of people climbing mountains and skiing line the walls and that's when he notices the mural of a map taking up a whole wall, it's not descriptive but he realizes why Yagura picked this one. His brown head is already several feet immersed in racks and quick on the move. They pass shelves of harnesses and helmets and cords that he doesn't know are used for. Yagura's already talking to the shopkeeper when he spots one corner of the store that looks different from the rest. The man on the wall is crouched and in one hand he clutches what looks like a tapered spear and his mind supplies the image of the razor sharp knives they have bundles of. Right below the man reads;

Never be caught in the dark! Our state of the art boots are made with the best of silicone technology to ensure you can be the best ninja there is! _Ninja? What is this..._

He catches Yagura's eye and turns back. It isn't long before he hears the soft scuff of his shoes against the carpet at his side. He spots the curled map at his side from his peripheral. His face twists in confusion.

"What's that?"

 **.*.+.*.**

" _Oh_ _twins_! You two are so pretty too" An elderly woman says, she has a wrinkled face and smiles gently behind a fruit stand. They blink at her, stunned and then Mariko smiles,

"Thank you"

"What brings you two here?" She says and before they can lie or cannot lie she moves quick as a whip and smacks away Naruto's hand from one of the apples at the corner of her stand. He jerks away, revealing himself and Yugito jerks him up to his feet by the collar. _So much for the plan._

"Sorry about that" she says awkwardly and averts her eyes.

"Is he your brother?" She inquires and she wants to fidget under her gaze.

"Yes" Mariko says quickly and the woman eyes them quietly.

"Where are your parents? Do you...have any?" She looks at them with sympathetic eyes and Yugito clears her throat and her eyes go slightly wide.

"No...it's just us, at the moment"

"Oh you poor children. I knew something was up. Here, hold on a second." The woman quickly digs around at one of the piles by her feet and Mariko swipes Naruto's hand in her own and gives him a ' _work with me_ ' expression when he gives her a glare and tries to pull away. The woman stands up with a pair of sandals in her hands and hands them to the Naruto who has the decency to burn red.

She beams at them holding hands as if the sight is going to break her old heart.

"Thanks, lady" he murmurs more to the dirt and Yugito almost smacks him.

"You're welcome...I noticed he was missing a shoe. Where did you come from? You're all covered in scratches and dirt, I can't even imagine what you must be going through."

"We came from the forest, there was a...fire. We don't really remember what happened." Mariko says

"The forest? It's a good thing you came here, Ame wouldn't have been too kind to you, they're not too forgiving. Here take some, you need to grow big and strong, right?" She says with a jolly smile and pinches Naruto's cheek before handing over a clear bag of apples and other produce.

"How old are you?" She asks and he blinks at her looking stuck before there's a rise of noise further down the strip and then-

 ** _CRASH_** -

"Hey! Hey! Get back here you two! Pick this up!"

They spot the colors of Utakata clothes and Fu's kicking legs just before they disappear behind a building. A peeved man stands, red and shaking his fist after them. Mariko looks to Yugito and the woman tsks.

"Delinquents these days, there's no respect anymore, can you believe that?"

Naruto stares with wide eyes between the two. The twins can only smile.

 **.*.+.*.**

Utakata had been doing just fine, striking up unwanted conversations with strangers to find out anything until Fu had gone off chasing someone. The woman was older and Fu had gotten her attention when she pulled on her shirt and almost got attacked in return.

"What do you want kid?"

"What's that?" She had said tapping her own forehead. The woman gave her a quizzical look but looked at her more closely before she relented.

"It's a symbol of the loyalty to my village."

"Your village?"

"Yes, Kusa."

"Why doesn't everyone wear them?"

"Sadai isn't a ninja village but isn't this what they teach you in school?" She snaps.

"Ninja village?" She says with a tip of the head ignoring the jab.

She notices Utakata standing a distance away before she seems to go soft before sighing.

"Yes, ninja, kid. We do missions and use chakra and all that stuff, okay? Ask your teacher about it, I have to go." The woman turns with a hearty but thoughtful breath and disappears among the crowd of shoppers. Fu looks like she wants to go bother her more but Utakata turns knowing she'll have to follow.

"Remember the plan?" He says looking at the mass of people on all sides and her mint hair shakes in understanding. They wander over to the stands and feigning interest Utakata is a able to snatch a couple of things and hides them in his shirt or pockets. A nice lady even gives Fu cookies.

"Hello"

He smiles slightly at the girl with orange hair and brown eyes, her freckles stand out on her skin and she looks hopeful,

"Find anything you like?"

"What's this?" He points to a small machine.

"It's a water purifier and right next to it are tablets that do the same thing. Are you travelling? Looking for anything specific?"

"Nope, just passing through" he says and she nods looking slightly flustered.

"Well we've got that, some elixirs, medical kits, dehydrated food, mostly stuff for ninja or outdoorsy equipment."

"Oh. Is this your stand?"

"No, it's my parents, I'm just working here for awhile. I'm Akari."

He opens his mouth when he hears

"Thief!"

"What? No! I was just-" Fu sounds incredulous and appalled seems to trip over something when the stand collapses and Akari's face turns to look at the commotion. Fu catches herself on the corner of another stand and topples that one too. There's a distinct sound of distress before someone wails,

"My _melons_!"

"My leg!"

Utakata turns and weaves in and out of the crowd quickly and without stopping dodges the angry shopkeepers that are starting to huddle around her and picks her up. She flails slightly but he breaks into a run once he hears the sharp crunch of ground under moving feet behind him and doesn't stop until they're a far distance behind and in some random street.

He's slightly out of breath once he stops and she looks to him.

"I tripped" is all she says and he glares at her but she glares back and crosses her arms.

"Be _careful_ next time. We don't want to get in trouble when we don't know where we are" it comes out low and harsh but she narrows her clementine eyes even more and harrumphs.

"I didn't mean to... hurry up...you sure are outta shape" she says airily.

He takes a breath and moving past her murmurs dryly "you don't even know the way." Utakata takes pleasure in walking just fast enough so that she has to pick up her pace without running.

He can just _feel_ the faces she makes at his back.

 **.*.+.*.**

Roshi and Han don't stay together, instead they decide on a place to meet after a certain amount of time. Han gets awed looks from kids and wary looks from the adults while wandering around with the mental image of the crappy map Yagura found. After what feels like a long time he eventually stumbles upon what he discovers is the local police station. What catches his eye is the giant bulletin outside. The glass is scratched and hard to see through but the MISSING PERSONS signs jump out at him and his eyes automatically scan around looking for faces he recognizes. The fine hairs rise on the nape of his neck when he realizes it's mainly children around the same age as the brats.

"Are you looking for someone in particular?" A subdued voice comes up behind him and he turns to find a man with black hair and pale. He's dressed in a uniform.

"Yes, is this just for the city?"

"Yes, but I think there's one that includes the surrounding cities at the hospital. Just ask the receptionist"

Han gives his thanks and with instructions makes it over to the high rise hospital, it's a pristine white and comprised of lots of windows.

When he asks about the Missing Persons reports the nurse looks at him pitiful and seems to want to put her hand over her heart and want him to purge his soul to her.

"Who are you looking for"

 _Uhh..._ he can't very well say he's looking for himself, _two is always better than one._

"Twins"

The woman's eyes go softer and sadder and she nods, "what are their names?"

"I don't know their last names but they're names are Yugito and Mariko. They're fair, blonde, brown eyes, maybe around this tall-" he gestures uncertainly and she nods.

"I'm not getting any reports within the city or the country. I'm sorry, they must not be from around here."

Han ponders this nods then regards her, _it'd be suspicious if I asked about all of them..._

"Has anyone gone missing within the last two weeks?" He asks instead and while the woman looks thrown off she searches and shakes her head no.

"Are you traveling?"

While the answer is not exactly yes it's not exactly no.

"Yes" the lady must think he's actively searching for someone because she ducks under her desk and pulls back out a small medical kit.

"Here, you can probably take care of yourself but I can't do much for you so take this. Stay safe I wish you the best of luck."

 **.*.+.*.**

Roshi doesn't know where he is going but he doesn't mind as long as he has time to breathe-to think. Being around so _much_ (i.e. the others) is draining.

He's walking through the sketchier part of town when he hears high pitched shrieks- _screams_ really and there's a crash, loud and it sounds a lot like splintering wood. He catches a red and white projectile bursting out of a building and landing in the trash heap in an alley.

"STAY OUT YOU PERVERT!"

"NEXT TIME I'LL DO MORE THAN JUST HIT YOU!"

"HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TELL YOU YOU ARE BANNED FROM THIS ESTABLISHMENT!"

A hoard of half naked, wet women and a short bald man with a broom in hand come outside and harass the garbage man and a couple kick him a few more times before the rally goes back into what is a bath house.

"But ladies, please!" The man whimpers and attempts to dig himself out of the trash.

"I'm doing research! I'm a paying customer! You will be the heroines of my next novel!"

Roshi thinks about turning his back and ignoring everything he just saw but he doesn't get very far.

"Pssst! Hey you, Red!"

"What?" Roshi says more out of irritation than anything else as the man beckons him over.

"Couldja lend me a hand?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"I don't know you"

"I'm Jiraiya"

The man gives him a look, expectant almost and Roshi merely furrows his brows.

"I don't like broadcasting it but,...I'm _the_ world renowned and praised author of Icha Icha Paradise, seasoned traveler, infamous Toad Sannin, world mystery as well as _the_ charmer of women everywhere... _that_ Jiraiya!"

"Sorry to disappoint" he says unapologetically. Regardless he helps the man dislodge his ass out of a trash but it topples in the process. Eventually he wedges himself free and grumbles the entire time about 'what has this world come to' and how a 'guy can't get any research done anymore.'

"Thanks. What's your name, friend?"

 _Friend?_ he thinks.

"Roshi"

" _Roshi?"_ The man's wild white hair whips in the air and he looks at him with a worrisome face. Roshi's heart skips a beat and he feels sweat start to form on his palms.

"Uh, yes" he says a little too sharply.

"You've heard of me?" His eagerness must be evident because Jiraiya's expression deadpans and he narrows his eyes.

" _No._ Doesn't feel that great does it?"

Roshi tenses his jaw and glares at the man. He's huge, broad and muscled and almost two of him but he's got trash in his hair and is eccentrically dressed. _I don't have time for this._

"I'm surprised they haven't thrown you in jail yet" he says and turns to leave.

"I'm better than that" is all he says but can't ignore him when he walks beside him and almost blocks out the sun.

"What kind of research requires peeping in on women" He says out of the corner of his eye disdainfully as the man walks languidly beside him.

"My kind. I was just passing through and thought I would take the opportunity to rest. Say, do you know where the best massage parlors are in this place? The...uh...fall was harder than I had expected."

This man clearly had no shame if the giant grin was anything to go by as if they had some kind of inside joke.

"I wouldn't know"

"Really?...You're not a local?" He sounded unimpressed.

"No" he says and almost rolls his eyes.

"You travelling? Doesn't seem like it"

"Something like that"

"You lost?" Jiraiya says sarcastically, lazy observation, and has his hands behind his head.

"You could say something like that"

He makes a barely audible sigh and says,

"Aren't we all?"

* * *

So I need to get back on track with this story, I'm still figuring out how wild I want to get with this story ha. I'm also going to be simultaneously making minor edits on past chapters while uploading new ones.

Also, I don't think its reasonable to have them be all super friendly and family like in the beginning they're barely acquaintances right now. I'm still wandering to what extent I want them to be self preserving and things like that, I think it makes things more interesting.


End file.
